Türkiye is preparing legislation that would prohibit people born after Jan. 1, 2015, from using or selling tobacco products throughout their lives, according to Professor Toker Ergüder, who is involved in drafting the proposal. The Health Ministry has been preparing the legislation for about a year and is expected to submit it to Parliament in October. The draft would also tighten smoking restrictions in indoor and outdoor public spaces, introduce new cigarette packaging rules, eliminate slim cigarettes, and prohibit smoking in restaurant areas, while designated smoking areas would be established in parks and public-building grounds. The proposal also includes a longer-term plan to prohibit tobacco production and sales in Türkiye from 2040. Ergüder said annual cigarette sales increased from about 91,000 tons, or 4.5 billion packs, in 2012 to approximately 160,000 tons, or 8 billion packs, in 2025.
Tag: Turkey
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Surveys Show Strong Support for Tobacco Controls in Türkiye
Surveys by Turkish Green Crescent (Yeşilay) found broad support for proposed tobacco-control measures focused on protecting children and young people from tobacco and nicotine use. The digital survey included 1,461 participants, while 5,481 people participated in a face-to-face survey conducted across Türkiye’s seven regions. In the digital survey, 91.4% supported new regulations aimed at protecting young people from tobacco and nicotine addiction.
Support for a proposed “Tobacco-Free Generation” policy, which would prohibit tobacco sales to people born in 2015 or later, reached 89.3% in the digital survey and 83.2% in the field survey. Meanwhile, 84.5% supported limiting the visibility of tobacco products at points of sale, 89.6% backed stronger restrictions on tobacco products on digital platforms, and 91.6% favored measures to reduce tobacco use and visibility in public spaces. Respondents also widely viewed newer nicotine products as harmful, with 96.3% describing e-cigarettes as harmful, compared with 92.9% for disposable vapes, and 91.5% for heated tobacco products. Yeşilay President Mehmet Dinç said the organization supports the Health Ministry’s proposed tobacco-control measures, emphasizing regulation rather than a ban and calling for legislation to advance through Parliament.
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Istanbul Ups Inspections for Indoor Smoking Ban
Istanbul authorities announced that they intensified enforcement of Türkiye’s indoor smoking ban, conducting more than 1.34 million inspections between 2022 and the first half of 2026 and issuing nearly TL 695 million ($14.7 million) in fines to 25,970 businesses found allowing smoking in enclosed public spaces. Authorities also temporarily closed 681 repeat offenders and fined 1,958 individuals, with violations and penalties increasing sharply in recent years.
The nationwide smoke-free law, which has applied to restaurants, cafés, bars, and other indoor public venues since 2009, continues to be enforced through routine inspections and public complaints, with 65 inspection teams currently operating across Istanbul.
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Türkiye Expands Anti-Smoking Drive with Free Medication
Türkiye’s Health Ministry announced it will provide free smoking-cessation medication to 1 million people, regardless of health insurance status, as part of an expanded effort to reduce smoking rates. The medication will be distributed through tobacco dependence treatment and counseling centers nationwide. The initiative comes as the government prepares legislation to further restrict smoking in outdoor public spaces, including beaches and playgrounds, as part of a broader campaign to reduce tobacco use and its visibility.
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Türkiye Looks to Tighten Smoking Regs
Türkiye’s Health Ministry is finalizing draft regulations that would restrict the visibility of tobacco products in shops and expand smoking bans in public spaces, including parks, gardens, and playgrounds, as part of efforts to reduce tobacco use and limit children’s exposure. According to local reports, cigarettes would no longer be displayed behind cash registers, and the draft also includes updates to indoor smoking laws and measures addressing electronic cigarettes and other newer tobacco products. Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said the proposal, which also calls for expanded smoking cessation services, will soon be submitted to parliament. Türkiye already enforces broad smoke-free laws, plain packaging, and advertising bans, though more than a quarter of the population still smokes.
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Turkiye Limits Tax Hikes on Tobacco, Fuel, Alcohol
Türkiye will limit Special Consumption Tax (SCT) increases on tobacco products in the first half of 2026, applying a 7.95% hike instead of the usual adjustment tied to producer inflation, which was close to 10%. Under the presidential decree published in the Official Gazette, the per-pack excise tax on cigarettes will rise by ₺1.28 ($0.03) to ₺56.78 ($1.31). The move departs from Türkiye’s standard practice of revising tobacco taxes twice a year in line with the domestic producer price index and is intended to ease consumer price pressures.
Tobacco remains a major source of tax revenue in Türkiye, with more than 19 million smokers spending over $16 billion annually on cigarettes. From January to November 2025, tobacco generated ₺396.4 billion ($11.1 billion) in SCT revenue, accounting for a large share of the ₺1.01 trillion ($23.2 billion) collected from fuel, tobacco, and alcohol combined. The Treasury and Finance Ministry said the moderated tax increase supports the government’s 2026 inflation targets while remaining consistent with revenue projections in the central government budget.
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Türkiye Rolls Out Mobile Clinics in Anti-Tobacco Campaign
Türkiye launched a nationwide campaign against tobacco, sending mobile cessation clinics and roving control teams to all 81 provinces, taking prevention and treatment directly to the public in city centers, villages, campuses, and industrial zones. The Health Ministry said teams will raise awareness about tobacco’s dangers, promote resources such as the 171 Quitline and the “Green Detector” app, and connect smokers ready to quit with doctors in mobile clinics.
Branded “Smoke-Free Türkiye,” the drive is part of the country’s 2024–2028 action plan to curb tobacco use, which remains at 34.8% of people aged 15 and older.
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JTI Turkey to Invest in Torbali
Japan Tobacco International will invest $40 million over the next three years in its Torbali factory in Turkey, reports Merhaba.
“We are constructing a new tobacco processing building, and the installation of two cigarette manufacturing machines has been completed,” said JTI Turkey Engineering Director Barış Tevattepe. “Our solar energy installation plans have also started as part of our sustainability goals.”
Located on 250 acres with 94,000 square meters of covered space, Torbali is the third-largest factory in the JTI network, according to Tevattepe.
According to JTI Turkey Regional Operations Leader Wojciech Odzimek, many innovations within JTI originated in Torbali. “We lead the industry in exports,” he said. “This facility is also a talent pool and center of excellence for JTI. Many individuals trained here have the opportunity to work in JTI’s factories in other countries. We have a team of 2,900 people in Turkey, generating great value for the country and region through production, employment, exports and taxes.”
JTI Turkey Production Director Sarper Ege Ulukaya expects a record production volume at Torbali this year. “We are set to reach 54 billion units, with 28 percent of this being exported,” he said.
“We are also growing in the domestic market. Our factory has improved efficiency through integrated management systems. We started these efforts in 2020 and achieved a 3 percent performance increase, which significantly contributed to our production records. Other JTI facilities come here to observe best practices. We have a young team, making it easy to adapt to innovations.”
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Turkish Smokers Fret About Latest Price Hikes
Photo: lial88 Cigarette prices in Turkiye increased by TRY3 ($0.9) on May 8, sparking lively discussion among smokers on social media, according to Xinhua.
The cheapest cigarette brands registered with the Monopoly Dealers’ Solidarity Association now cost TRY53 per pack, while the most expensive one is priced at TRY75 liras per pack, according to association president Erol Dundar.
“Though a three lira increase per pack might appear to be a small amount, it is not so for smokers,” said Yagmur Sivri, a resident of Istanbul, who smokes one and a half packs of cigarettes a day and spends about TRY2,500 on smoking each month.
“Considering that millions of people in Turkiye live on a minimum wage of 17,002 liras, the latest price hikes put a very large burden on their budgets,” she said.
The price hike aggravates Turkiye’s already rapidly increasing costs of living. The country’s inflation hit 69.8 percent in April.
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Turkiye Tops Smoking League: Report
Photo: lial88 Turkiye leads the world in per-capita cigarette consumption, with smokers lighting up an average of 17.1 cigarettes per day, reports the Hurriyet Daily News, citing an EU Statistics Office Report.
At least one out of every four people in the total population aged 15 years and above smokes, according to the Tobacco Control Plan 2018-2023. This means that about 20 million people in Turkiye are regular smokers.
Other countries with high levels of per-capita cigarette consumption include Greece, with 15.7 cigarettes; Israel (15.5); Japan (15.5) and Austria (15.4), the report said.